USACFC National Championships
The United States Association of Collegiate Fencing Clubs (USACFC) National Championships is the highest level of collegiate club fencing competition in the United States. The event is held in early April.
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Hosts
- 2003: University of Florida (Gainsville, FL)
- 2004: University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH)
- 2005: Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
- 2006: Clemson University (Clemson, SC)
- 2007: Indiana University (Bloomington, IN)
- 2008: Smith College (Northampton, MA)
- 2009: University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI)
- 2010: Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
- 2011: University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
- 2012: United States Military Academy (hosted in Hartford, CT)
- 2013: Michigan State University (hosted in Dimondale, MI)
Format
The USACFC National Championships take place across two days, and has events split by gender and weapon.
Day One
On day one, the weapon squads are placed into pools according to seedings determined by the organizers based on regular season results. Each squad designates an A strip, a B strip, and a C strip fencer, and each team fences a match against each other team in the pool, with the A strips fencing each other, the B strips fencing each other, and the C strips fencing each other. After team pools are complete, the best-performing fencers compete for individual championships in a traditional pool and direct elimination format.
Day Two
On day two, the weapon squads are placed into a direct elimination bracket according to seedings determined by their performance in team pools. Each match is a dual meet that stops as soon as a winner is determined (that is, once a squad has won 5 bouts). The bracket is fenced to determine all places. For example, if a squad loses in the round of 16, it can place anywhere within 9-16, and is placed in a sub-bracket containing all teams that lost in the round of 16. If the squad wins its next match, it is competes for 9-12 against other winners from that sub-bracket; if it loses, it competes for 13-16 against other losers from that sub-bracket.
